Someone Must Stop Biden, But Who Will It Be?

The horrific violence being perpetrated on the people of Gaza by the state of Israel has appalled much of the world and mobilized millions to take to the streets in protest, including in the US. That this genocide can only continue with the material assistance of the US is beyond debate. That Israeli and US belligerence is now threatening a regional conflict is also clear. That such an expansion would cause unimaginable suffering is assured and that a world war could subsequently ignite is a real concern.

Biden is the person most responsible for how bad it will get—or how much it could turn around. He’s the man behind the wheel, reputedly more so on this issue than any other of his presidency so far. But two recent news items showcase his severe deficiency, ethically, and in realpolitik.

The first is his answer at a January 18^th press conference to an inquiry about US strikes on Yemen targeting Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, who have been attacking ships bound for Israel in protest of the genocide in Gaza. Asked by a reporter if the US strikes were “working,” Biden responded: “Well, when you say ‘working’ — are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes.”

Ansar Allah has since widened its attacks to include US commercial traffic.

The second news item was the report that, if any US troops in Iraq or Syria are killed by Shia militias, the US would attack Iran. Whether such attacks would be within Iran’s borders was not clear, but it’s no secret that bipartisan elements of the US political establishment have been seeking an excuse to go to war with Iran for decades. Trump’s 2020 assassination of popular Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was a recent provocation.

Full-on war with Iran would be an unmitigated disaster for everyone directly involved, and likely for anyone nearby who wasn’t. First because Iran would be a formidable adversary with a well-equipped military that includes the largest missile forces in the Middle East. Secondly because Iran has been forging closer ties with both Russia and China. The three nations have been holding joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean since 2019. This month it was announced that Iran and Russia had finalized a bilateral strategic pact. So a US war on Iran has the potential to bring in Russia, China or both, to a lesser or greater degree. At that point, the world would be depending on the restraint of Putin and Xi, both of whom have limits.

Biden’s support for the Israeli project apparently has no limits. As he told Netanyahu on a visit to the aspiring ethnostate in October 2023: “I am a Zionist.” This personal devotion is a tremendous liability in this deepening crisis. With his compromised cognitive abilities, his reactions have the appearance of being driven by emotion not rationality. He seems oblivious of or indifferent to the high risks involved, and to his increasing isolation on the world stage and within his own party.

Meanwhile, with each day the death toll from bombs and bullets rises in Gaza, soon to be eclipsed by disease and starvation if a cease fire is not declared and massive aid rushed in. For the sake of the Palestinians, and the Yemenis—and everyone else who will be dragged into this mess who isn’t in it already—someone must stop Biden, but who will it be?

The attacks on Yemen elicited a bipartisan protest from a few members of Congress, thankfully. We can hope more will join them, but that’s a long shot.

The amount of internal dissent within the Biden administration over Gaza has been characterized as “extraordinary” and has no precedent since at least the days of Nixon. State department employees have sent cables through the department’s “dissent channel.” Demands for significant policy change have been issued by Biden campaign alumni, USAID staff, and Democratic congressional staffers. This is a good start, but still more need to speak out or, like State Department official Josh Paul, resign and speak out.

Current campaign staffers warn that they “have seen volunteers quit in droves, and people who have voted blue for decades feel uncertain about doing so for the first time ever, because of this conflict.” Indeed, Democratic voters have a special role to play in reining in Biden. After all, it’s an election year, and nobody has a gun to their head forcing them to go the polls. Unfortunately, “but Trump!” prevents too many of them from wanting to publicly criticize Biden, though they might quietly express disapproval in private.

But as Cara Marianna wrote in The Floutist: “Genocide is not a ‘lesser evil.’”

Too many US American voters have forgotten (if they ever knew) that you don’t vote for a candidate because they’re going to do what you want. That candidate doesn’t exist, no matter how eloquently they might try to convince you. You vote for the candidate most likely to bow to your demands when you exert pressure on them.

There’s a story about FDR that’s apocryphal but nonetheless makes this point. As the tale goes, civil rights leaders met with the president to beseech his help for their cause, and after listening, FDR replied: “You’ve convinced me. I agree with what you’ve said. Now go out and make me do it.”

The Abandon Biden campaign is so far the only organized public effort with the goal of making Biden do it, and it’s frankly quite refreshing to see. The campaign is being spear-headed by Arab-Americans who are strongly opposed to Biden’s sponsorship of the Israeli genocide. Support for Biden among Arab-Americans has fallen precipitously from 59% to 17%, and they make up significant voting blocs in key swing states. They know they could make the difference in whether he wins or loses and they’re holding it over his head. As Margaret Kimberley put it in the Black Agenda Report, they are “are giving a master class in political courage” from which other voting blocs upon whom the Democrats depend could learn.

Such an effort has utility beyond its success or failure in making Biden do it. First, it’s good for anyone to exercise long neglected muscles and get back into shape. We will need the strength and confidence to build and sustain popular mobilizations against the misdeeds of our misleadership no matter who wins what election.

Secondly, if Democratic power brokers decide that a Biden candidacy is no longer tenable due to a revolt among their voters and swap him out with someone else, that person will need to chart a different course, and not just in word. People who are willing to stand up and say, “Abandon Biden,” won’t be satisfied with promises, and will require action. Gavin Newsom, who visited Israel shortly after Oct. 7 to express his support for the Zionist government, won’t fit that bill. But Bernie Sanders’ Jan. 25^th heartfelt video shows that he might.

Make no mistake that it’s the power brokers who are in charge of the Democratic party. As Scott Horton has pointed out in recent podcasts, Democratic voters are ever at odds with their party’s donors. Still, history shows that power, no matter how intransigent it might seem, will bend if the pressure is strong enough. Johnson faced enough opposition over the Vietnam War that he declined to run for reelection in 1968. He announced it on March 31 and we can aim for making history repeat itself on that date this year.

The January 26 ICJ ruling against Israel has cast Biden and the United States in an even more unflattering light. Those who seek to soft-pedal the horrors in Gaza, or Biden’s support for it, are now on their back foot, so it’s time to push.